Europcar expands its New Zealand footprint

Leading global car rental company, Europcar, has added two new stations to its New Zealand network and increased its fleet by 25 per cent as part of the company’s local expansion plans.

The two new stations in Palmerston North and Invercargill increases Europcar’s overall network to 18 stations across north and south islands and the company have ambitious plans to add another 12 locations in two years.

Europcar New Zealand General Manager, Steve Whyte, said Europcar was a challenger brand in New Zealand, behind Avis, Budget and Hertz, and the company’s aggressive growth strategy would establish a bigger footprint in the marketplace, helping to win more corporate contracts.

“Europcar entered New Zealand’s rental market in 2008 and we are quite strong in the leisure market but we also want to attain a larger corporate market share,” Mr Whyte said.

“In New Zealand we have strong source markets from Europe, America and Australia due to our high brand awareness in those countries, with Australian travellers accounting for 50 per cent of the New Zealand market.

“By growing our presence and opening more branches, we hope to capture a greater amount of incoming tourism, service major corporates and also benefit from corporate flow from other countries.”

Mr Whyte said the company’s New Zealand operations had already benefited from Europcar Australia’s appointment as one of the Australian Government’s preferred vehicle rental providers, with a 23 per cent increase in New Zealand’s Airport market share as at May 2013.

Mr Whyte also reinforced that while the corporate market was a key target, Europcar remained focused on New Zealand’s significant tourism industry.

“Tourism in New Zealand is a $64 million per day industry, contributing almost 9 per cent of New Zealand’s gross domestic product , and vehicle rental is incredibly important to this industry,” Mr Whyte said.

“The free independent traveller is a major part of the New Zealand experience and tourists want to be able to move around freely and check out sites for themselves – and we want to make sure we continue to service this important market.”

To meet customers’ diverse needs – both leisure and corporate – Europcar has introduced a broader range of vehicles to its New Zealand fleet and upgraded existing stations to uphold the service standards expected by Europcar customers across the globe.

“We have branches across both north and south islands, a trusted global reputation and an impressive fleet, including European vehicles such as the new BMW 320d and the Peugeot 508,” Mr Whyte said.

“We are also upgrading several stations including Auckland City, Auckland Domestic Airport and Queenstown, with plans to roll out the new design across further stations as part of our commitment to align the visual identity of Europcar branches worldwide.

“This is just the beginning of our expansion in New Zealand and we are very excited to be growing our business in this important market.”